Its the real deal. Pricey but for $374 - 600 can get brand new unlocked. Beware NO SD SLOT

I got my S9 after my S4 crapped out after 5 years (screen went off, wasn't even cracked). My S4 & S9 served me very well! I had the S9 for 4+ years it simply is an amazing phone. I was at a crowded place, and someone knocked my elbow while holding it. It fell, and the screen cracked pretty bad (not like one crack, many cracks). Screen still works perfectly, but, I was scared it could stop working at any time. So, I needed a new phone. I looked at the S21 FE and S22. At the time I purchased, the prices were about $200 different (then a week after I purchased, prices were the same!). But, I'm happy with my purchase. I liked small phones in the past, never had a bigger one. I am actually enjoying the larger screen. Better for viewing content. I'm a guy and my pants pockets are plenty large for this phone as well. Feels no different than my previous S9 in my pocket. I've watched a lot of YouTube reviews of the camera / video quality / test pics and footage, and it seems they are almost the same (sometimes I prefer and think the S21 FE image / video looks better, others the S22 looks better - kind of a toss up).

So, what have I noticed? Well, battery life is amazing! Beats my S9 by FAR! Now, my S9 was 4+ years old when I had to replace it (now use the S9 as a "camera I'm not worried about losing or breaking"). I had the S9 for a long time, and I cannot remember how good battery life was when I first got it. But, I don't recall it ever getting worse either. What I can say is, I used to have to top my S9 up a bit at least once or twice a day. My S21 FE, lasts ALL DAY (and I even have the battery saver setup so it only charges to 85% - never did that with the S9). And even from 85%, I get a full day no problem! Usually around 35% or so when I am ready for bed. The screen is great. I do leave on 120hz mode all the time. I also have dark mode turned on. I like how it looks, and dark things on screen use less battery than bright white things. But yes, battery is great.

Now the cameras. My S9 actually had almost identical video. I make YouTube videos and the S9 did me very well in 4K by 30 or 60. I do notice the S21 FE is ever so slightly better image. It also has better stabilization and just some other processing stuff that helps out. The pictures are better for sure. I've taken pictures of people and shown them, and they've been like, "What phone is that?!? The pictures are sooooo good!" The S9 did well. But, the S21 FE is for sure an improvement. I used to use my G7X Mark ii for most pictures, because it just was better by far than my S9. Now, I don't think I ever really need that camera anymore. This phone produces awesome photos!

I haven't had a single issues, no glitches, no nothing. Just a smooth perfectly working phone. I did kind of like the S9 having the fingerprint reader on the back. But, I quickly got used to the in screen reader. It works fast and great. Apps load fast. Camera is on in an instant with a double tap of the power button. Just really nothing to complain about. I would have kept my S9 another few years, but, I am happy with the S21 FE and hope it lasts me 5+ years as well.

Great phone, if you are looking into it and deciding if you want to get it, I for sure recommend it.

Edit: I'm a super heavy user. I'm at about the 6 month, and now the device gets warm when it's taxed or the weather is a little warm. And the battery life, whuch is still great, and dropped down significantly. Love the phone. Very concerned about the longevity. Particularly as i come up on summer in florida

mark Edit: one month in, and I love it! Battery lasts all day, and I'm on my phone nonstop.
I'm used to the change in buttons and actually like them. Put in settings so power options do come up now. Like the screenshot method, mostly.
Got a supcase military grade unicorn beetle case so it's well protected. Signal is great on tmobile. 5g is slower than 4g, so I turn it off. but I'm out in the middle of nowhere.
Touch screen works perfectly even under double acreen protectors! Updates get sent all the time. So worth it!

And my mom is blown away by the telephoto lens. For me it's a fun binoculars, but pretty mushy picture quality at telephoto distance. S9 couldn't do that at all. The close up distance/focus is much better than my s9. The rest is pretty similar.
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It's only been a couple days but so far so good. None of the touch screen or overheating issues a few people listed on the internet.

I took very good care of my S9, but it was overheating often. This is night and day difference.

I thought the volume buttons above the power button would take some getting used to, but actually the only downside is taking a screenshot is more difficult. Oh, and the power button no longer turns it off! Although I've read There are some workarounds for that. Otherwise you have to go up in the menu.

I love that it's the same width as my old phone, but taller. Gives me more space but I can still hold it.

I absolutely hate that there are no good colorful heavy duty cases out for it yet. Come on OtterBox!

I wanted to go with the S10 because I was nervous reading reviews, and how new this was. But this was cheaper, and so far I'm very happy with my choice.

Please note, red it definitely an orangey red. I went with red so it would be more visible if all I could find for now was transparent cases. But if I could go back I would definitely choose purple again.

I've also read a lot of people turn the 5G off because it's not available everywhere and you don't really want it constantly switching between 4G and 5G. 5G was coming in pretty good for me out in the boonies with T-Mobile. I did switch it to 4G yesterday and that also worked fine during a trip.

Transferring information using Smart Switch actually worked really well for me. My S9 main Drive was completely full. The SD card was half full. This brought over ALMOST everything perfectly, and it wasn't even very slow. The only things it didn't bring over were paid apps that I had installed with a different Google account. I had to add the rest of my Google accounts and do those by hand. Not sure if that would have been any different had I installed all the Google accounts first.

I would say it's very slightly brighter than my S9. I don't have a problem with the camera being on the screen.
Haven't had great luck with a fingerprint yet, but I do need to redo it since I put a screen protector on anyways.

Happy happy!

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G phone is easy to set up and outperforms my Galaxy S8+ in all regards. For those of you with Spectrum Mobile service, 'in my experience,' the S21 FE phone works without issue. HOWEVER, do not expect meaningful support from Spectrum. The Spectrum Compatibility Web App reports the S21 FE is incompatible with their network. However, it also reports incompatibility for my wife's Galaxy S21 Ultra and my old S8+, both of which perform well on the Spectrum network. Chatting with customer service yielded the same result: incompatible. However, after switching the SIM card from my S8+ to the S21 FE, about fifteen minutes later, I received an automated email from Spectrum stating I would be enjoying their 5G service within an hour. Less than twenty minutes later, the network recognized my phone's IMEI number and connected it to the network. DISCLAIMER: The foregoing is for informational purposes. It is based solely on my experience. Your experience may vary. I hope this helps. Good luck!

My last phone was a Samsung A10e, and anyone coming from a cheap A series phone can for sure tell you that this is a MAJOR upgrade. I got the 128gb S21 FE model and I only paid $590 USD for the black version, despite really really wanting the white version, yet that one was priced at $699 USD. Would I pay $699 for it? Probably not, but everyone has a different budget for everything!

When I received the phone, it came in its regular factory box which is very thin, like I was concerned for a second that they just sent me a case, but nope! They've cut down on everything that they send you. It came with the phone, a manual in a tiny box, a sim card tool behind that box, and I believe short type c cable, I already have a charging cable so I didn't pay any attention to it. Not that big of a deal really, it just worried me for a second haha.

Now I'm someone who worries about storage, and this phone does NOT come with a micro SD card slot (unlike the S20 FE), however I've not had any problems with my storage yet, I still have roughly 61GB out of the 128GB to go. The system itself is 22.5GB which is expected as this is a very beefy and fast machine, and then I play a lot of games so my apps take around 39GB. I don't take many photos either so I only have around 1GB used, but if you are someone who loves to take photos, I recommend getting a separate portable hard drive or even using your personal computer to send your photos over, as spending $70-$130+ for just 128GB of more storage is a lot when you could use that to get around 500GB on a standalone drive. It is also worth mentioning that getting the bigger storage version for this phone, also adds 2GB of ram to it, giving it a speed boost, but I'm about to go over some things about the phone's speed.

As for game wise, I play Genshin Impact, Colorful Stage/Project Sekai, Stardew Valley, Pokemon GO, and Fallout Shelter, and this thing runs them all like a BEAST. I wouldn't recommend getting the extra 2GB of ram in the bigger storage model since this phone can run pretty much anything you throw at it. Anyone who's ever played Genshin Impact knows how heavy the game is, and it can run it at max settings just fine, the only problem, is that it gets INCREDIBLY hot. So hot that it lowkey hurts to touch after playing for more than just 5-15 minutes. This could be completely fixed if you get a cooling mount for around $20-30. I do prioritize game functionality and speed over looks so I do play extremely comfortably in low-medium settings as it still looks great! However if you're looking for a gaming machine with smooth fps and no lag at all with maximum settings on heavy games (since bigger temperatures means lowering the processing of your game, causing lag), I'll have to recommend looking for a different phone such as an Iphone or a Oneplus since they do that well.

The camera is good for me! I take photos of my dog and that's it. It also has a 30x zoom which is crazy. The front camera is really good and I sometimes put it up to my head and angle it to make myself look like a goldfish and it's super funny haha. The fingerprint reader works extremely well even with a screen protector. Fun fact I found: you can lay your finger over your fingerprint reader while the screen is off and it'll unlock! So you don't even have to double tap your screen to wake it up or press a power button. I was never a fan of 120hz screens and I still am not, but it looks super smooth when I have it turned on. The AMOLED screen was a huge game changer for me, it's beautiful and has incredible contrasting colors.

I know people say they have tons of issues with the battery to this device, but I honestly haven't had any problems whatsoever. Now I do keep medium power saving mode on as I just don't see too much to the use of allowing your phone to do any big background services when you're not using it. It lasts about a day and a half. I work 9-5 and I come home with 70% battery after being on it or checking it very often and frequently. Now I will say there has been some connectivity issues during heavy storms and heavy storms only, but I experienced that issue with my last phone so there's a massive chance that's just my mobile data provider (which is US Cellular). By the way, this phone is unlocked, so it should be able to accept just about any other provider you use. I also think it supports 2 sim cards? I'm not too sure as I'm not someone who would ever have to use it, but if you are, then that's a plus.

Overall this phone is absolutely amazing and I 11/10 recommend it :)